


Forging a Future

by StarryNox



Series: Edelclaude Week 2020 [3]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Black Eagles/Golden Deer Joint Route, Found Family, Post-War, cw: medical trauma, cw: mention of a panic attack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:02:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25192093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarryNox/pseuds/StarryNox
Summary: Edelgard has always known she is living on borrowed time...until she isn't. And that opens up possibilities she hadn't let herself think of before.Edelclaude Week Day 3: Change / Adrestia
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg & Ferdinand von Aegir, Edelgard von Hresvelg & Hanneman von Essar, Edelgard von Hresvelg & Lysithea von Ordelia, Edelgard von Hresvelg/Claude von Riegan
Series: Edelclaude Week 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1821904
Comments: 2
Kudos: 43
Collections: Edelclaude Week





	Forging a Future

Edelgard had always known that changing Fódlan would not be easy, but she would be lying if she said she hadn’t hoped that it might be a little easier than this. The three countries which were now united under a single banner had cooperated well enough in times of war, but the first year of peacetime brings challenges of its own. Edelgard is growing increasingly convinced that the Kingdom and the Empire only worked together because they hated their ( disguised ) Agarthan overlords more than they hated each other, for neither of them particularly like _her_. That the Alliance is willing to work with her is a blessing, yet its lords are no less divided than they once were save for their shared distaste for a central leader.

And then there is the matter of the Church. The new archbishop, Byleth, is fully on board with Edelgard’s reforms and stipulations that the Church have less of a chokehold on Fódlan’s society, but those among the faithful who protest the Church’s new, diminished role ( many of them _also_ the nobles butting heads with Edelgard and her supporters over secular matters ) are a vocal bunch with more power than she really likes. Some days, she wonders if she ought to have razed the institution to the ground after all, but Manuela, Marianne, and Mercedes are always quick to remind her that it is not faith itself which causes harm, but the unchecked power that the institution had—a problem not unique to religion. And so, the Church was allowed to stay, with its doctrines undergoing internal reform to both bring to light history which had been for so long obscured and to create a religion that is accepting of all, and its order of knights reduced to only what is needed for immediate security. The rest were offered severance pay and job training or an opportunity to join the Knights of Fódlan, whose creed directs them to protect any and all who are within Fódlan’s borders, but particularly the downtrodden and those who cannot protect themselves.

Taxes are imposed upon the nobility to fund projects such as infrastructure and a _free_ public education system ( and oh, how they grumble! Dorothea alternates between delighting in the fact that many nobles are being forced to care for the people for the first time in their lives and wanting to shake those who continue to drag their feet ). Opportunities to raise one’s station are created, as is a system to remove those who have abused their power. Minimum wages are being guaranteed, and stockpiles of food to be distributed to those in need during the winter have been started.

Brigid is released from its vassal-state status, and Edelgard continues to correspond with Petra regarding what reparations can be made. An envoy has been sent to the Queen of Dagda, seeking a new chapter in the history of their relations, one of peace and trade. An investigation into the Faerghan massacre of Duscur has been launched, and Dedue helped her draft a letter to the leaders of one of the larger groups of Duscur survivors in offering Fódlan’s cooperation in whatever path forward they wished for. Slavery had been outlawed, and a suggestion on reparations to those forced into servitude by House Goneril and others like them sits upon her desk. Yet another one of her trusted allies has been tasked with understanding the conflict between Faerghus and Sreng, in the hopes of brokering peace with them. And while the current king of Almyra had been decidedly lukewarm on Fódlan, Edelgard knows that Khalid has been working to ameliorate his father and his people to the idea.

Everything is changing, and yet nothing is changing fast enough. On her desk lies piles of letters from disgruntled individuals who think she’s gone mad with power. She lets Hubert and Ferdinand handle most of those kinds of letters—most of them are useless drivel, though they each have stern instructions to raise to her attention any _actually_ substantial arguments that might be made.

Others caution that she is changing far too much far too soon, and not for the first time, Edelgard grapples with the burden of time—a lack of it. The Crest of Flames eats away at her. She tries not to think of the research spearheaded by Hanneman, Lindhart, and Lysithea, but the reality is thus: either she will live long enough for them to find a way to remove her second crest, or the Crest of Flames will burn her through from within.

With no future to claim, she buries herself in the present. If she can create a more equitable system that will outlast her ( indeed, every minute not spent on current policy is spent on crafting an entirely new system of government, one where the nobility does not exist at all ), if she can build a world where _all_ people can live freely and in dignity, then she will have done enough. If she can do that, she thinks, she will be without regrets.

Determinedly, she does not think of the things she wants for herself. But it is much harder not to think of the man she so desperately does not want to leave behind.

But then, the impossible happens. Hanneman comes bursting into her office, monocle askew, Lysithea hot on his heels ( Lindhart, she later learns, had opted for a nap instead ). She is alarmed first, having been startled thoroughly out of her paperwork, then bemused, and at last…well. Hopeful is not quite the word she would use, but she feels something close.

“I do believe I have found a way to remove a Crest,” Hanneman tells, her practically bouncing on his heels. “And I am _quite_ confident that it will work. At the very least, I was able to retrace the blood reconstruction procedure within a sample and subsequently remove both Crests.”

“That’s wonderful,” Edelgard breathes, setting down her quill. Though she had been, at first, hesitant to allow _anyone_ to access the research done by Those Who Slither in the Dark, she’d been forced to concede that studying the procedure done to her and Lysithea offered the best chance of reversing it. “Is it safe?” At that, the exuberant researchers in front of her exchange glances, and—oh, Edelgard does not like this one bit.

“You see…” Hanneman begins, and it is the first time she has ever seen him hesitate. “There is, of course, not exactly a way to _ethically_ test this procedure on a living being. Lysithea, Lindhart, and myself are quite confident that the person undergoing the procedure will survive it, but it is still an experimental surgery, and—”

“I’ve volunteered to be the test subject,” Lysithea interrupts, jutting her chin out in determination. “That way, if something goes wrong—”

“No!” Edelgard slams her palms on her desk, causing both mages to jump. “No,” she says in a softer voice. “Lysithea, I…” _I can’t lose you, too_. “Your life is no less precious than mine.” The white-haired mage rolls her eyes.

“Of course it’s not. But between the two of us, you’re a little more important in standing, aren’t you?” And as much as she might want to, Edelgard cannot argue with that. “It’s a risk, yes, but it’s one I’m willing to take. As you know, I don’t have long left regardless. We plan to have a team of trusted healers on staff during the procedure, so the risk will be minimal.” Edelgard closes her eyes.

“Much as I dislike the idea of you risking your life, Lysithea,it’s your decision,” she says at last. “Just…” She looks at Hanneman pleadingly. “Take care of her, won’t you? And keep me informed.” Hanneman nods.

“I promise you, young Lysithea won’t receive finer care anywhere else.” He settles a hand upon Lysithea’s shoulder, his expression solemn but warm. Not for the first time, Edelgard feels as if she is looking at father and daughter. Though if Lysithea is like another sister, then Hanneman must be like her father, too. And, indeed, when she thinks of who has guided her since her school days, who has nurtured her the way she always wished her father would, there is no other title that suits him more.

But it’s for this reason she finds herself worrying only an appropriate amount when the day for Lysithea’s surgery rolls around. She holds Lysithea’s hand as Linhardt and Manuela administer a sedative to knock her out before returning to her office ( though not before issuing a strict order to fetch her when it’s over ). And as she sits at Lysithea’s bedside, waiting for her to wake, sifting through reports, and glancing occasionally at Hanneman’s exhausted, napping form, she knows she would not trade this little family of hers for anything.

Afterwards, it is Edelgard’s turn. As she’s put to sleep, she clutches an old stuffed bear in one arm and with the other hand she squeezes Lysithea’s hand so tightly that the poor woman is left wincing. All the while, Manuela runs her fingers through her hair soothingly. She wakes from the procedure gasping and thrashing but with only the minor Crest of Seiros she was born with, and she sobs in relief when it’s all over.

She is no longer running out of time. And with her workload lightened to allow for her recovery, she at long last allows herself to imagine what will come after. Whatever the reality of it may be, though, she knows Khalid will be at her side. They’d promised each other that much, after all.

Still, the first to bring up the idea of marriage is Ferdinand ( because of course it is ). After what feels like an eternity but is, in reality, only a few months, an Almyran delegation led by Khalid, now king of Almyra, arrives in Enbarr to discuss trade ( among other things ) between their countries. After nearly two years of separation, Edelgard spends as much of her free time with Khalid as she possibly can. But on this afternoon, he is deep in discussion with his own advisors, and so it is with Ferdinand that she takes tea instead.

“With all we have done, I cannot help but wonder if Fódlan would accept an Almyran king,” Ferdinand muses as he reaches for a pastry. Edelgard, in a resounding display of composure, chokes on her tea. Ferdinand is far too proper to laugh at her misfortune, but there is no denying the way the corners of his mouth have curled upwards in response.

“With all that we _plan to do_ ,” she reminds him once she has stopped coughing, though her cheeks remain red, “Fódlan will not have a king at all.”

“Of course, that is the ultimate goal,” Ferdinand agrees easily. “But such a world may yet be quite a while’s away. Surely you do not intend to put your life entirely on hold until then.” She does, actually, and he must know it, for he lets out a sigh. “I am well aware that I am the last person who should be saying so, but you are allowed to pursue your own happiness—within reason, of course.”

“I’m glad,” she replies dryly, “that we are both in agreement that you have no room to talk when it comes to pursuing one’s personal life, Ferdinand.” Even during the war, Ferdinand had worked himself to the bone in order to make up for his father’s misdeeds, and that hasn’t changed even now. Despite this, Ferdinand waves his hand dismissively.

“Why, if it would make you happy, and if I did not have Hubert, I would suggest that we get married instead,” he tells her blithely, causing Edelgard to shake her head in fond exasperation. It is not the first time Ferdinand has said something of the sort, and she doubts it will be the last. Ferdinand, as they have all learned, has no notion of loving with anything less than all of himself, and he is perhaps the only person she knows who could slip a proposal into casual conversation. “But I think we both know that is not the arrangement you would prefer.”

“No, it is not,” she replies, knowing he won’t be offended in the slightest. “Thankfully, for your sake and Hubert’s, there is someone else I have in mind. Even so, Fódlan is still fragile. I’m not sure that now is the right time to be thinking of such things.” Ferdinand’s eyes soften, and he sets his teacup down delicately before he speaks.

“For what it is worth, Edelgard, I believe that it would not be as difficult as you may think. True, there are still those who are less than pleased about the reforms we have been pushing. But there are many more who have been swayed to our cause precisely because you have chosen to follow your heart. Is it not reasonable to believe that this matter would be so different?” With a shake of his head, he adds, “Think on it a while. That is all that I ask.” And so she does.

The idea of marriage is still on her mind when she and Khalid steal a moment for themselves after supper, hiding themselves away in the privacy of her sitting room.

“A copper for your thoughts, El?” Khalid asks, idly toying with a lock of her hair. And, oh, how she’s missed this—the closeness, the way he looks by candlelight, the tender gazes and soft touches. It’s that thought more than anything which spurs her to be selfish, and she draws away from where she has been leaning against him to look him in the eye.

“What do you think of getting married?”

“Mm. In general? Or to you, specifically?” he teases, and she shoots him a distinctly unamused look. He laughs, but she can’t quite be annoyed with him when she sees the way the corners of his eyes crinkle. “Okay, okay, there’s no need to pout at me.” He leans forward to touch his forehead against hers. “I’d love to. Marry you, that is.”

“Marry me, then,” she says, breathless. 

“Oh, _joonam_ ,” he says, laughing and pressing a kiss to the tip of her nose, “I’ve intended to marry you since the war.”

**Author's Note:**

> and this concludes all that i have currently finished for edelclaude week. we'll see if i manage to post anything else on the proper day of, but i've honestly been writing through a migraine as it is so we'll see, lol. anyway, i hope that you enjoyed!
> 
> i know this fic breezes past the war, and frankly i don't want to get into it in too much detail because i do intend on it being similar to how the war plays out in my main joint route fic ( of which this series can be considered a slight AU of, lol ). but for those curious, it starts off similar to CF, except meeting judith's forces as ailell is thrown in, and instead of rhea / dimitri's forces being the end goal it's cornelia. afterwards it plays out roughly like VW, except dedue is recruited post-gronder and the invasion of enbarr's final boss is myson ( the tws mage that's present in the castle map ).
> 
> rhea is rescued at shambhala, and instead of the thing with nemesis at the very end it's the the resistance army + the almyran army against immaculate one rhea and a faction of the knights of seiros / church officials, all unnamed, who oppose the kind of world edelgard & claude are trying to build. also, it is seteth and flayn who provide most of the exposition rather than rhea, and the stuff about byleth is discovered by breaking into rhea's quarters / office.


End file.
